The Baggage of James
by Data Girl 3
Summary: Penny and James are growing closer every day. However, there is something James hasn't been honest about from the very start of their relationship, and now the past that he's been trying to escape from is about to catch up to him.
1. Penny's Twenty Sixth

Laughter rang out inside the Condo on a warm spring night. The Bohemian family, with the exception of Mark, were gathered around the metal table where, placed in the center, was a professional looking vanilla cake topped with white icing and an intricate arrangement of sliced strawberries, with a large candle in the shape of the number '26' placed on the top of the cake. Penny sat at the head of the table, laughing with Maureen as Joanne kept Rodolfo from sneaking a strawberry from the top of the cake, much to the amusement of Lucia and Zack, while Emily momentarily stepped away to answer the phone when it rang. Shortly after picking up, she placed a hand over the speaker grill to call Penny over.

"Penny, Mark's on the phone." Immediately smiling, Penny crossed the room to speak with her father, while Rodolfo, Zack and Lucia called out their greetings, raising their voices to ensure Mark could hear them. Mark was currently out of town, attending a mandatory business meeting in Connecticut. As a result, he was unable to be home for Penny's 26th birthday.

"Hi, Dad," Penny spoke as she took the phone from Emily.

"Hey, Penny," Mark's voice responded. "Happy birthday. Sorry I can't be there, Ladybug."

"Don't worry about it," Penny assured. "I understand why you're not." For a brief moment, Penny paused, thinking about how distant Mark's voice sounded over the phone. "So, when are you coming home?"

"My flight back to New York is scheduled for Saturday. I should be home in time for dinner."

"Great. I'll make sure Rodolfo and Zack don't finish the cake before then."

"Thanks for that, Penny. You know I always look forward to tasting your mother's cooking. But just promise me you'll have a wonderful birthday, all right?"

"Sure, Dad, I promise. I better go, though. Aunt Joanne's not going to be able to ward Rodolfo away from the cake much longer. See you Saturday, okay?"

"Of course. Put your mother back on before you go, all right?"

"Right, here she is." After passing the phone back to her mother, Penny started to head back to the table, where Rodolfo had somehow managed to snag a strawberry when Joanne was looking the other way. But before she could sit down again, there was a knock at the door. Lucia was the one who reached the door first, dodging around Penny as quickly as she could. Outside in the hall was James.

"James!" Penny's smile widened even more, as she went up to greet him with a quick kiss, which he tenderly responded to.

"Hi, Penny. Happy birthday," James greeted.

"Well, what are you doing standing out in the hall?" Penny laughed. "Why don't you come in? We're just about to start serving the cake."

"I can't," James shook his head, sounding very reluctant at turning down the offer. "Unfortunately, Allen never showed up for work tonight, so I have to go in and cover his shift tonight. I can tell you one thing, Sammy's babysitter is very angry with me for calling her over on such short notice.

"James, I keep telling you," Emily, who had ended the call with Mark, spoke up. "You can always just bring Sammy over here. We're always more then happy to watch your little brother for you when you're working."

"I know, Mrs. Cohen," James replied. "But I didn't feel right just pawning him off on you this time, since I have to cut out on Penny's birthday like this. It didn't feel right. I just wanted to come over and apologize to Penny in person for missing her special day."

"Oh, don't worry about it, James," Penny waved a hand. "It's really no big deal."

"Yes, it is!" James insisted, grasping her hand and looking straight into her eyes. "I really wanted to be with you today. It's not every day your girl turns 26 after all. I'm going to make it up to you, I promise. My boss has guaranteed this weekend off for me, and I'm gonna set the whole evening aside for you. Just you and me, doing whatever you want to do. Okay?"

"Well, if 'making it up to me' really is that important to you," Penny gave in, "I guess that would be okay with me."

"Believe me, Penny. It's _very _important to me." James smiled before kissing her forehead. "As cheesy as it sounds, seeing you happy will _always _matter to me. You and Sammy.

"Unfortunately, I better get going. My boss will bite my head off if I don't my shift soon."

"Have a good night, James," Penny said, hugging him goodbye.

"I'd have a much better night if I could stay here," James stated. "But at least there's always this weekend. You enjoy your night with your family, Penny. I'll see you Saturday." With another tender kiss, James left the Condo.

"Man," Rodolfo groaned from the metal table, rolling his eyes. "If I ever get that sappy, just put me out of my misery and shoot me on the spot." Rodolfo's quip was rewarded by a light cuff from Emily.

"Is it time for cake?" Lucia asked hopefully.

"I suppose it is," Emily decided. "Penny, since it's your birthday, you're the one who gets to cut the cake."

"Right," Penny agreed, taking the knife. "And Rodolfo can have the piece he already took the strawberry from."

* * *

Outside, on the nearly empty streets, James stood glancing up at the Condo's window, where the light from the kitchen could be seen.

"Happy birthday, Penny girl," he whispered to himself before getting into his cab to drive off to work.


	2. A Serious Step to Take

**AN:** Well, my computer has completely and officially died, resulting in me being only able work on the school computers until my new one comes, in another week (at least). Thus, I can't say when the next update will be. Still, this chapter should appease you until then. Enjoy, because I think it will be one of my favorites in this story.

* * *

Joanne was standing alone in the subway terminal, waiting for the train back home to arrive. Work that day was too long, and she was looking forward to putting her feet up.

While she was waiting, her attention was drawn by a young woman in her late twenties, who was studying a subway map that hung on the wall. The young woman had that familiar look about her. The type you would usually see in someone who'd just arrived in New York and was feeling overwhelmed by the bustle of the city and the change in surroundings. Taking pity on the poor girl, Joanne went over to offer some help.

"Is this your first time to New York?" Joanne asked kindly.

"Um, yes. Sort of," the young girl replied, appearing slightly distracted about something. "I once came here after high school graduation with my now-ex-boyfriend, but that was a few years ago. But that's pretty much while I'm here. I've wanted to get in touch with some of my old school friends lately, and I heard that my ex was living in the city. So I came out here to just see how he's been doing. But this map is just so confusing. How do New Yorkers manage to keep track of where they're going? You've got blue lines, green lines, red lines, and it looks as if some of them even split off into two directions.

"Well, here, let me give you a hand," Joanne offered. "Where exactly are you trying to get to?" For the next few minutes, Joanne helped the young girl figure out how to get to where she was going. As the lawyer's train pulled up, the girl had finally seemed to have a basic idea of what to do.

"Thanks for your help, um…" the girl trailed off.

"It's Joanne."

"Well then, thanks, Joanne. I'm Hannah." After flashing a grateful smile, Hannah headed off in another direction while Joanne got on the train home

* * *

Outside, it was on a warm spring night, and despite the cloudy sky which gave the eventual promise of rain, James and Penny were seated at one of the outside tables at the Garage Restaurant and Bar in Greenwich Village, simply chatting with one another

"Seriously, James," Penny began. "We didn't have to come here. Everything's so expensive. The clam chowder alone costs 8.50!"

"Sometimes, Pen, I think you spent too much time living under the Bohemian lifestyle your parents led," James chuckled. "For tonight, try not to worry about things like prices. This is _your _night, remember? Just let me take care of everything."

"Under one condition. Don't make this a common occurrence, okay?"

"I promise. This is just a one-time celebration of you turning 26."

In the end, James ended up ordering the chicken and smoked mozzarella ravioli while Penny chose the linguini with tomato, basil, and ricotta salata. As they finished their meals, shortly before the waiter returned with the bill, James reached out to lay a hand over Penny's.

"I almost forgot. It's about time for your birthday present," he announced softly.

"James! This dinner was more then enough," Penny tried, without much success, to hold back a sudden wave of embarrassed but flattered giggles."

"What kind of guy would I be if I didn't spoil my girl once in a while?" James challenged. "Especially when that girl is someone as wonderful as you?" Penny's blush grew even brighter as James took out a rectangular parcel wrapped in rose-colored paper with a lavender bow, Penny's two favorite colors. Inside was a two-tone full heart pendant that mixed 14kt yellow gold with white gold perfectly. The moment she saw it, Penny felt her eyes widen in her surprise as her breath caught in her throat.

"It's…it's beautiful."

"Only the best that I can give you, Penny girl," James smiled as he moved from his seat to fasten the pendant around her neck. When he secured the clasp, James crouched down slightly so his eyes could be level with Penny's. For a brief moment, they shared a soft smile before, with James' hand cupping her cheek and Penny's hand resting on his shoulder, the smile shifted into an even softer kiss.

* * *

The rain had been falling for almost an hour. In the Condo, Rodolfo, Zack and Lucia had already gone off to sleep, as well as little Sammy, who was being babysat by Emily while James and Penny were out. With the four children sleeping, Emily was left to finish up some last-minute chores before heading off to bed as well. When she was just finishing up with securing the window to keep it from blowing open during the night, the door opened, allowing an exhausted Mark to return home.

"You know why they call it stand by?" Mark asked without hesitation. "Because you stand by the gate all night while everyone else boards the plane."

"Welcome home, Mark, sweetie," Emily smiled widely as she went up to greet Mark with a quick but loving kiss. "I was wondering how late you'd be when you called to say you'd be home later then you thought."

"Don't tell me you were actually waiting up for me," Mark found himself holding back a small chuckle, knowing full well that was most likely _exactly_ what she was doing."

"Nope, I just wanted to do some tidying up before bed, that's all."

"Liar," Mark couldn't hold back a laugh this time. "You were purposely looking around for things to do while you were waiting, weren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emily replied with a wink. "But come on, enough about that. You must be worn out after your flight."

"Yeah, a little," Mark admitted. "The children are already asleep, aren't they?"

"Except for Penny," Emily explained. "She's out with James. He was taking her out in celebration of her birthday tonight."

"And they're still not back yet?" Mark raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the clock on the wall.

"You're not worried, are you?"

"No, not at all." This time, it was Emily's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe I'm a _little _worried, but I couldn't call myself Penny's father if I wasn't, could I? Besides, I know James won't let anything bad happen to Penny. I trust them both."

"Good," Emily nodded. "Now come on, come to bed. You'll need plenty of rest for tomorrow. We both know Rodolfo and Zack will be assaulting you with questions about your trip in the morning. You better be well rested for them."

* * *

The raindrops fell steadily on the already soaked window pane, creating a steady, soothing rhythm that filled the room, which was only partially illuminated by the streetlamps outside. On the side of the room furthest from the window, a shirtless James let out a tiny breath, glancing down at the person who was snuggled perfectly between him and his bed, dressed only in a bra and panties. Penny's eyes closed halfway as James rested a hand on her cheek. For a few short moments, neither of them moved, but then James bent down to lay a series of small kisses on Penny's forehead, neck and shoulders, while he took pleasure from the feel of her fingers running through his auburn hair.

When James finally lifted his head to kiss her lips, a pleasured moan echoed through Penny's throat, and she slid her hands down his bare back, allowing her fingers to lightly drum along his spine. In retaliation, James glided his own hand over Penny's waist until it found a place on her hip. The other hand was allowed to skim up to tenderly cup Penny's breast. When no resistance was given, James moved his fingers under the material of her bra to lightly stroke against the sensitive nipple. In an instinctive response, Penny arched her back with a soft groan, her abdomen brushing against the growing bulge in James' pants.

The moment this action occurred, James' eyes snapped open, and as if he'd just received an electric shock, he pushed himself away to sit at the foot of the bed, holding his head in his hands, breathing heavily. It took a few moments for Penny to work past her confusion from James' sudden and unexpected actions to slowly crawl over and place a gentle hand on his shoulder. The moment she did, James looked up to face her, the faintest hints of tears in his eyes. When James looked up at Penny, he couldn't fight the mental kick he gave himself. He could easily see Penny wasn't angry at him for stopping so suddenly, but she was still confused. It was with a terrible, guilty blow to his heart that James began to realize she was probably thinking she'd did something wrong.

"Pen, it's nothing you did," James quickly assured her. "Believe me, I _do_ want this. I want this too much, and that's just the problem. This…what we were about to do. It's a serious step to take. A _very _serious step. And that's why I had to stop."

Penny sat in silence, just listening to James speak. She could tell that he was having trouble saying all of this, and knew that he'd have an easier time saying it if he wasn't interrupted.

"Penny, I really like being with you," James continued, tenderly taking her face in his hands, subconsciously stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "I like it more then I could ever say. And because of that, I don't want to do anything that could hurt what we have now. If we _were_ to make love like this, then it would change things completely. Anyone who denies that fact is just fooling themselves. And if the changes were to go wrong, you could end up getting hurt. That's something I can't let happen. Because I love you."

For a brief moment, James continued to gaze at Penny's face, the honesty of his words plain to see, but then he moved away, his body hunched over, with his folded hands resting between his knees. Silence fell in the room, until it was broken by the rustle of bed sheets as Penny wrapped her arms around James from behind.

"I love you, too," she whispered into his ear. The small tremor that passed through James' body at these words could not visibly be seen, but Penny could feel it. Responding to the mutual confession, James turned slightly to pull her into a loving embrace. For the longest time, they remained where they were, holding on to one another at the foot of the bed, with James occasionally placing the tiniest of kisses into her hair.


	3. An Unsettling Sight

The moment Mark sat at the metal table for breakfast the next day, Rodolfo and Zack immediately started showering him with questions.

"Did you bring us any souvenirs?"

"Did you go sightseeing?"

"Oh, yeah! Pictures! Tell us you brought back pictures, or postcards, or…"

"Boys, come on," Mark replied, his shoulders slightly shaking from suppressed laughs as Emily served the family her Mickey Mouse pancakes. "Just give me a chance to enjoy the first home-cooked meal I've had in a week before the questions, okay?" With the mention of breakfast, Rodolfo immediately was distracted by the food that was being served, which was something Mark couldn't fight a smile about it. Rodolfo was always so much like his father, right down to his love of food, and the fact that he never seemed to gain any weight no matter how much he ate.

"We really did miss you, Daddy," Lucia announced before pouring syrup on her pancakes.

"I know. I missed all of you, too." Mark gave his daughter's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

As the family started to eat breakfast, Penny came downstairs with a gigantic smile on her face, pulling her long strawberry blonde hair back into a ponytail.

"Good Morning, all," Penny greeted everyone, going over to give her parents 'good morning' kisses on the cheek. "Welcome back, Dad. It's good to have you back home. Sorry I can't stay for breakfast. I need to get to the hospital early today. Rachel's giving me a ride, so we'll grab something on the way."

"Penny," Emily spoke up, raising her eyebrows a bit, just as the young girl reached for the door handle. "Are you okay?"

"Of course, Mom!" Penny grinned, her face shining with happiness. "I've never been better." After a few seconds, an identical smile appeared on Emily's face.

"Okay then. Have a good day, Penny." With that, Penny was off, and with a nod, Emily returned to her breakfast. "I thought so," she spoke to herself.

"Did I miss something?" Mark asked, looking from the door to Emily in confusion. "What did you 'think so'?"

"It's obvious," Emily explained. "She and James said the L-word last night. You know, love."

"What? They said….? How…how do you…?" Mark nearly choked on his coffee.

"A mother knows these things," Emily shrugged. "Besides, I saw the look on her face. I had the same look on _my _face, after you said those special three words to me for the first time, if you'd remember." Emily's words immediately prompted Mark to fix her with a gentle gaze as he recalled that memory as well.

"Uncle Mark, please don't leave for so long next time you have business," Rodolfo complained. "Things get _way _too sappy around here without you home."

"Someday, Rodolfo," Mark replied with a half smile, "you may think differently about that subject."

* * *

Penny stepped out of the apartment building and immediately saw her friend and fellow student nurse, Rachel, waiting in her convertible, the radio currently tuned to a pop music station.

"Well now," Rachel smirked, taking in Penny's high spirited expression. "You certainly look cheerful this morning, Penny."

"Really?" Penny winked as she got into the car. "I hadn't noticed."

"Try looking in a mirror, girl, because you are practically _radiating_ happiness today. Let me guess. It has something to do with James, doesn't it? No, don't bother answering. I know that's a dumb question. Of _course_, it's James. He's all you ever talk about."

"Oh, I do not," Penny denied, even though the disavowal didn't reach her grinning face.

"Who are you trying to fool?" Rachel challenged. "Every time I see you, when you're not off somewhere with James, you manage to bring him up in every conversation, no matter what the topic is. I swear, the two of you will are so annoyingly sickly sweet, it makes my sweet tooth hurt." Penny just shook her head. Rachel, despite her act, was a major romantic, and always enjoyed hearing about her and James.

"So, just tell me," Rachel continued as she drove her car to the hospital where they worked. "Has he taken you to meet his parents yet?"

"I've already told you, Rach. James doesn't get along with his parents. They're both extreme conservatives. He knows that they won't think too highly of my Bohemian family, and doesn't want to put me through that."

"Yeah, I remember," Rachel agreed. "That still doesn't mean you should be denied the whole 'meet the future in-laws' thing. I remember the stories you told me about when your Uncle Roger and Aunt Mimi got married, and how their parents were about being kept out of the loop until they got the invites and all that. I don't want to see you go through the same thing when you and James finally decide to get married."

"I don't remember mentioning anything about marrying James, Rachel," Penny pointed out, glancing out the window to hide a blush.

"Girl, what do you take me for?" Rachel cried incredulously. "Everyone's seen how that boy looks at you. Trust me, Penny. He's _so_ going to ask you one of these days." Penny chose not to reply, but inside, Rachel's words had left her flustered. For the rest of the drive, the thought of her and James actually getting married kept running though her mind.

* * *

Sammy kept a firm grip on James' pant leg as they navigated through the Fairway Market with James pushing the cart filled with broccoli crowns, toilet paper, a carton of milk, a box of Coco Puffs, and other various groceries.

"James?" Sammy glanced up at his brother with wide golden-brown eyes. "When are we gonna go to the Life again?"

"For the gazillionth time, Sammy," James replied patiently as he examined the condition of a carton of eggs. "The dinner with the Cohen family is on Saturday night, in three days."

"Can't we see Penny sooner?" Sammy frowned in disappointment. It was with a contemplative expression that James met Sammy's gaze.

"You really like Penny, don't you?" James asked, his voice growing soft, with a faint glow in his eyes.

"Yeah!" Sammy replied with strong enthusiasm, grinning widely. Seeing the small boy's obvious liking for Penny, James's face broke into a warm smile, and he lightly tousled Sammy's hair before replying.

"Well," he spoke, pretending to think about it, "maybe we'll be able to stop in later, when she's on break from her work at the hospital, since you're so eager to see her."

"Nu-uh!" Sammy shot back, raising his voice slightly to emphasize his words. "You wanna see her, too, James!"

"Hmm. Can't fool you, can I?" James laughed at the sight of Sammy attempting a stern glare. "All right, you caught me. I wanna see her today, too. Okay, it's decided. We'll stop by on her lunch hour. Sound good?"

"Yay!" Sammy cheered at the thought of seeing Penny. Grinning at Sammy's reaction, and the mutual happiness he felt at seeing Penny that day, James was about to return to his shopping, but as he started to reach for a box of instant macaroni and cheese, he froze. Quickly turning his head, James stared in shock toward the end of the isle, feeling his heart stop. No. It couldn't have been her. There was just no way she was here in the city. He just saw some random person out of the corner of his eye, and his subconscious mind just connected that tiny glimpse with her. Even so, the brief thought of her being here of all places was terribly unsettling.

"James?" Sammy's worried voice snapped the young man out of his thoughts, and he looked down at the little boy, who was looking right back up at him. "What's wrong?" Sammy asked in concern. "You're all sweaty." Subconsciously, James wiped away the nervous sweat that had formed on his brow.

"I…I'm fine, Sammy," James assured a little too quickly. "Everything's just fine. I just thought I saw something, but it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. But it's not important. Let's get the groceries back home, all right? Then we'll go and see Penny."

With James' guarantee that everything was okay, Sammy's thoughts quickly moved on to visiting Penny that day. James, on the other hand, was still secretly shaken from his brief scare, and was still trying to reassure himself that what he told Sammy was true, and he really hadn't seen who he thought he saw. Things had never looked better for him. He had Sammy, a job to support them both, and even had the love of Penny. It would just ruin everything if it had really been her he had seen.


	4. A Reunion Over Dinner

**AN: **I managed to finish this chapter sooner then I thought I would. It's very short chapter, but a very important one. The overall plot starts picking up here. Enjoy.

* * *

The Bohemian family were assembled in the Life Café, enjoying their family night as they ate their soy burgers, with sides of miso soup and fries. During the conversations they were having, the adult Bohemians kept glancing over at James and Penny, who were constantly cuddled to one another, and having short whispered conversations every so often.

"They are so cute," Maureen voiced out loud. "If this was high school, they'd be a cinch for 'cutest couple'."

"Maureen, leave them alone," Mark requested, smiling over at his daughter and her boyfriend.

"What?! I'm not doing anything wrong," Maureen exclaimed. "Besides, I'm not the_ only_ one who's noticed them acting like a couple of newlyweds. Take that blond-haired girl over by the bar. She's been looking this way since we got here." Maureen pointed over at the person she was referring to.

"Oh, it's her again," Joanne realized, looking over.

"You know her?" Penny asked, turning to look at the young woman as well.

"She was in the subway station a few days ago," Joanne explained. "She was having trouble reading the subway map, so I helped her figure out where she was going. She seemed pretty nice, but a bit out of her element." Eventually, the conversation shifted away from the girl Joanne had helped, and moved on to how Mark's business trip had gone.

"As I told Zack and Rodolfo," Mark began, "I really didn't have much time to see the city. When I wasn't taking care of business at the conference center, I was at the hotel sleeping or eating at a restaurant with my co-workers. Although, I might go back again when I have some vacation time. Then, I might actually enjoy my time there."

"James, what's with you?" Emily suddenly spoke up. "You look really distracted about something." James immediately snapped out of a daze, tearing his eyes away from a random point by the bar.

"Uh, yeah. I...I'm fine," James insisted before glancing away, the same disturbed look on his face. After a short pause, he got up from the table. "Sammy, you stay here and color in your book. I'll be back in a moment, okay?"

"Okay," Sammy agreed, barely looking up from coloring in a picture of Thumper in his Bambi coloring book. With a gentle smile, James tousled the boy's hair and turned to head off somewhere, but just as he began to walk off, he stopped and took a moment to kiss Penny tenderly. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," Penny replied with a smile. Mirroring the smile, James went off, heading out the door by the bar, unknowingly entering the same courtyard where Roger and Mimi had once confessed their growing feelings for one another years ago. This time, however, the person entering the courtyard wasn't looking for a romantic moment.

For a time, James stood silently, his face expressionless, but then a movement out of the corner of his eye made him turn his head, and he found himself facing Hannah standing under one of the glowing lights.

"Hello again, James," Hannah greeted casually with a bold smile on her face. James kept his face absent of expression as he faced Hannah.

"What are you doing here, Hannah?" he asked.

"Is that how you say 'hello', after five years?" Hannah laughed in amusement. "I was hoping for something more along the lines of 'how've you been,' or 'it's nice to see you,' or…"

"Spare me the rambling," James ordered. "What do you want?"

"Aw, can't I just be allowed to wonder how things are with you? Speaking of which, how's Sammy?"

"He's fine," James answered in a defensive tone. "Not that it's any of _your _business."

"Aren't I allowed to wonder about how he is?" Hannah sniffed, sounding offended. Instantly, a hardened glint formed in James' eyes, but he kept his voice calm and civil.

"After what happened to Mattie, you don't have the _right_ to ask about Sammy." For a time, the two of them remained silent, until James spoke again.

"Earlier this week, at the Fairway Market; it_ was _you I saw, wasn't it?"

"Guilty," Hannah admitted off-handedly, starting to examine her painted fingernails. "I was just in the area and saw you go in. I was hoping you'd come after me for a long overdue talk, but you left pretty quickly."

"Quit playing innocent, Hannah. I know you. You _knew_ I was living here in New York, and came to that market every day _hoping_ you'd see me, didn't you? And you followed me here as well, right? You know, that could constitute as stalking, and I know of one lawyer inside who would be willing to help me file a lawsuit against you."

"Is that right?" Hannah smirked. "There's just one teensy-weensy problem with that threat, James. Getting your lawyer friend involved would mean admitting all of_ your_ transgressions, wouldn't it? Are you really willing to risk that? You know what it might end up costing you, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." James agreed, his face still void of expression. Hannah's smirk grew even wider as she slinked up to him before tracing a circle on his chest with a finger.

"Oh, and that reminds me," she began in a seductive voice, "I notice you've found yourself a little girlfriend here in New York. How lucky for you. I admit it, she's really pretty. Although, she looks real….how should I phrase it? Delicate?" Catching the subtle undertone to Hannah's comment, James' mood shifted from impassiveness to anger.

"I'm warning you, Hannah," James rounded on her, his voice filled with strong forewarnings of danger. "You stay away from Penny, and Sammy, too, for that matter. If you _ever _come near either one of them…"

"Then you'll what?" Hannah asked, her tone showing her vast amusement. "You'll kill me? _Now_ who's the one trying to fool somebody? We both know, James, you don't have it in you to _actually_ kill me." James glared at Hannah for a moment, but then dropped his eyes to the ground, defeated, a fact that Hannah visibly gloated over.

"Come on, James," she went on. "Why don't we have dinner somewhere one night? Just you, me, and Sammy. I'll be just like old times."

"The old times are over, Hannah," James stepped away, fixing her with a piercing glare. "They're over for good. Maybe the old me would have swallowed your sob story about how you've changed, and given you another chance. But that was another lifetime ago. You're no longer the Hannah I knew in high school, and you never will be again. The same can be said for me. You'll get no more chances from me. That ship passed a long time ago. I'm sorry to say you've wasted your time in coming here.

"Go back to Maine, where you came from, Hannah," James turned to go back inside. "We're finished here." Even after James had reentered the Life and shut the door behind him, Hannah stood unmoving. Her laid-back manner vanished in an instant, and was replaced by a hard glare.

"Oh, no, James," she spoke to herself. "We are _not _finished here. We will _never _be finished here."


	5. Fire at the Hospital

**AN: **A little useless fact here: one of the minor characters in this chapter, Larry, was based on one of my friends from high school. She had this psychological issue in which, if the stories she told me were true, her step-father would tell her that she wouldn't do good in college because she wasn't smart enough or something like that, so she combated it by acting like the ultimate expert on every topic known to man. (Once we went to an amusement park, and she starts talking with this guy about the mechanical details of the ride we were on.) Like Larry, she'd talk non-stop about some random thing, which usually sounded completely bogus and untrue, while I just sat there listening and nodding every-so-often.

* * *

A group of children were outside the Beginnings Nursery School, spending the day out on the playground and enjoying the warm, sunny morning. Among them was Sammy, who was currently on line for the brightly colored toddler slide. After his turn came around and he had slid down the plastic slope, Sammy started to run back to the end of the line. Just as he started off, he heard someone calling his name. Looking over at the fence that bordered the playground, Sammy saw a young girl with blonde hair waving over at him, glancing over at the staff member currently watching the kids play, checking to see if she was distracted. When she was sure no one was looking, the girl beckoned Sammy over. The little boy blinked warily at her for a moment and gave a brief glance at his playmates before slowly walking over.

"Hello, Sammy," the smiling woman spoke when Sammy was close enough to talk with. "Are you having fun?"

"James said not to talk to strangers," Sammy announced in a matter-of-fact tone, his eyes never leaving Hannah's face.

"Oh, he did, did he?" Hannah continued smiling. "That's very good advice, but you can talk to me. I'm not a stranger. I've known you since you were a baby."

"Really?" Sammy slightly cocked his head, as if trying to evaluate Hannah.

"That's right," Hannah confirmed. "How else would I know your name, or that your birthday is May 8th?" Sammy couldn't think of anything to argue with there, and he took a few steps closer.

"Say, Sammy," Hannah went on. "I know of this nice little ice cream shop not too far from here. Would you like me to take you there?" In response, Sammy took a step backwards, shaking his head. "You don't?" Hannah spoke in an unbelieving voice. "Don't you like ice cream?"

"James says I'm s'posed to stay here, unless he, Penny, or Mrs. Cohen come to get me."

"It'll be okay," Hannah assured him. "It'll just be for a little while. Come on, Sammy. I'll buy you a big hot fudge sundae, with your favorite flavor."

"With rainbow sprinkles?" Sammy asked hopefully.

"That's right," Hannah grinned. "Come on, what do you say?" For a moment, Sammy cautiously approached Hannah, who smiled in triumph and reached in to open the gate from the inside. At that moment, the staff member, deciding it was time to go back inside, called the children over. Before Hannah could say anything to stop him, Sammy had obediently turned and hurried back to the group. From the gate, Hannah stood for a moment, watching Sammy go back inside, and then she turned and walked off.

* * *

Inside one of the administrative rooms in the New York Downtown Hospital, Penny was at work measuring out medications and counting out the correct pills for the patients up on the third floor, double checking the hospital's medical sheets to see if she was doing the job correctly.

"Hey, Penny!" Upon hearing her name, Penny turned to the door to see Rachel standing there. "I was just about to head down to storage." Rachel explained. "I wondered if I could get you something while I was down there."

"Um," Penny glanced over the medicine bottles that were arranged on the cabinets in front of her before replying. "Actually, if you could bring me back some more Ribavirin? I'm just about out up here, and Mr. Matlin is almost due for his dose."

"Right," Rachel nodded. "Hang tight, I'll be back in a moment."

Rachel made her way down the hospital corridors to the storage room. Inside, she started to go through the cabinets filled with various medications, taking down some pill and vaccination bottles.

"And some Ribavirin for Penny," Rachel spoke to herself upon selecting the correct container of pills. As she closed and locked the supply cabinet, through the corner of her eye, she saw a person with blonde hair run by the open door. Turning quickly, Rachel stepped out into the hall to see who it was, but when she stuck her head out of the room, there was no one in sight.

"Hello?" Rachel called out to the empty hallway. "If someone's there, this hall is for hospital staff only." When no reply was given, she started to feel a little uneasy. She'd always been a murder mystery/crime show fan, and she'd seen enough of them to know that this was the part where the hapless victim was done in. Her senses on high alert for any indications of someone other then herself being down there who might jump out any second, Rachel quickly made her way to the elevator, making a mental note to check with administration to see if anyone else had been down there.

Unknown to Rachel, a short distance from the supply room, there was an open cardboard box that hadn't been there earlier. Inside the box was an assortment of crumpled newspapers and old t-shirts soaked in kerosene. Ever so slowly, the newspapers started to smoke until, as fast as a switch turning on the lights in a dark room, the box's contents burst into flame.

* * *

Somewhere across town, Mark and some of his coworkers from Redefining Pictures were setting up for a documentary on the city's wildlife, more notably the pigeon. As he worked, Mark listened to another one of the cameramen, Larry, who was an avid birdwatcher.

"You know how most people immediately think of the rock pigeon when someone mentions the word 'pigeon'," Larry was saying, "but the truth is, if my counting skills are correct, there are 310 different species of pigeon in the world, and that's if you exclude the extinct species."

"Mmm," Mark nodded, for the sake of being polite. It wasn't as if he disliked Larry, but there were times where he would talk your ear off, and all you could do was to just nod and smile a lot.

As Larry was about to start explaining what his favorite species of pigeon was, another one of Mark's coworkers, Simon, hurried over with a portable radio, looking extremely stressed out about something.

"Mark!" Simon cried. "You gotta listen to this!"

"What is it?" Mark turned to Simon, relieved of the distraction from Larry's ramblings.

"I was just fiddling with the radio here to catch some of the news program," Simon explained, looking very pale. "Listen." Mark glanced down at the radio to listen to the broadcast, wondering what had gotten Simon so upset.

"The latest word is that the fire at the New York Downtown Hospital is under control, and the building is being searched for any personnel or residents who weren't able to make it outside during the conflagration. Investigations are already underway as to what started the fire, although according to the reports of one nurse, who refused to disclose her name…." Almost immediately, Mark felt his heart stop. The Downtown Hospital was where Penny worked.

"Guys, I…" Mark started to speak, his voice horribly strained from worry.

"Don't say a word, just get down there!" Larry interrupted, knowing what he was going to say. "Family's much more important then this. We'll cover for you down here."

"Thanks, guys," Mark replied before hurrying toward his bike, which had been parked nearby. Within moments, he was pedaling towards the hospital, with his legs moving as quickly as he could manage and his mind swamped with worry. Was Penny okay? Did Emily hear about the fire, too? If she did, was she, at this very moment, trying to call him at work?

At an intersection, Mark had to stop his bike on account of the traffic blocking his path. Impatiently, he began tapping his open palm on the handlebar of his bike, waiting for the right of way, anxiety starting to make his scalp itch.

"Mark!" a voice cried suddenly from the street. "Mark, over here!" Turning to his left, Mark saw James sitting in his taxi cab.

"James," Mark breathed, practically leaping for the open window of the cab. "Penny…."

"I know," James imputed, his face mirroring Mark's intense worry. "I already heard. Get in the back, I can get you there faster then that bike can."

"Thanks," Mark hurried into the back of the cab, pulling the bike in with him. "I'll pay the fare…"

"Forget the fare," James spoke urgently as he drove on. "If my boss gives me grief about giving you a free ride, then I'll just tell him to take it out of my paycheck."


	6. I Lied

**AN:** Two chapters posted tonight, to make up for the fact that I might not be able to update for a while, due to a paper I need to complete by Moday afternoon, which I'm not looking forward to at all. These are major chapters, however, so that should make up for it.

* * *

Mark and James arrived at the hospital a short time later. Already, a crowd was gathered around the fire-damaged building, and police cars and fire trucks were all over. The two men immediately nudged their way to the front of the crowd, so they were pressed up against the police tape that had been set up around the scene. For a long moment, they scanned the number of people who were standing around the hospital grounds, being interviewed by police officers or sitting by one of the ambulances, being checked for injuries or breathing from an oxygen tank to combat the smoke that had entered their lungs.

"Where is she?" Mark asked, nearly in a state of panic.

"I don't know," James whispered. They were just about to cross the police line to start searching for Penny, when…

"Dad! James!" To their immense relief, the two men saw Penny appear from a small group of nurses nearby, running over as fast as she could, and enveloping James in a tight hug. In response, James held her as close as she could, while Mark grasped her arm. After about a full minute, Penny and James stepped apart, enabling Penny to give Mark a brief hug as well.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked, the worry still evident in his face.

"I'm fine," Penny answered, looking at her father and boyfriend in turn. Her face was still smudged with ash from the fire, and she smelled strongly of smoke, but she appeared otherwise unharmed.

"What happened, Pen?" James asked, brushing some hair out of her face.

"I don't know. I was starting to visit the patients to give them their afternoon medications when the alarm went off."

While Penny, James, and Mark were talking with one another, over by a tree a few feet away, Hannah stood watching with a face full of malice. After glaring at Penny and James for a moment, she slinked off, with no one seeing her leave.

* * *

"So, she's okay," Emily sighed in relief as she received the news on Penny. "Thank heavens. I was so worried when I saw that on the news."

At the current time, Rodolfo, Zack, and Lucia were still off at school, so Emily was alone in the Condo, with the exception of Sammy. When James had heard about the fire, before heading straight to the hospital to see if Penny was okay, he'd called Emily up, asking her to pick Sammy up at preschool.

While Emily and Mark talked on the phone, Sammy was sitting on the couch, being entertained with the Disney movie _Homeward Bound_.

"We're going to be here a bit longer," Mark explained. "The police want to question Penny to see if she saw anything strange. I overheard some of them talking, and they found evidence that the fire was intentional. So I suppose they'd want to see if anyone knows of anyone who'd want to burn down the hospital."

"Okay," Emily nodded, wondering how anyone could do something that extreme without caring about all the hospital patients who could have died. "I'm going to call Maureen, Joanne and Benny. They'd probably want news, too."

"Sounds good. We'll be home as soon as they're done interviewing Penny." After Emily had gotten off the phone with Mark, Sammy looked up from his movie.

"Is Penny okay, Mrs. Cohen?" He asked.

"Yes, she's fine," Emily replied. "She'll be back soon." With a happy smile, Sammy went back to his movie and Emily started dialing the number for Maureen and Joanne's pad. Before she could finish, someone knocked on the door. Thinking it was Maureen, being true to herself and heading straight over after hearing about the fire, Emily crossed the room to open the door. Instead of Maureen, it was a young blond girl, whom Emily recognized as the girl Joanne had said she'd helped out at the subway station.

"Can I help you?" Emily asked in confusion.

"Hello," Hannah smiled at Emily. "Is Sammy here?" Immediately, Emily arched an eyebrow.

"Actually, yes, but I don't see why…"

"Oh, good," Hannah interrupted. "I'm here to pick him up. James asked me to watch him for a while. I'm an old friend of his, you see."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think James would have arranged for anyone to pick him up without telling me," Emily pointed out. "After all, he was the one who asked me to pick Sammy up from school."

"Well, that probably would be true, usually," Hannah agreed. "But you have to admit he may have forgotten to tell you that I'd be stopping by, seeing how he'd be too concerned with the fire at the hospital that his girlfriend works at. So, I'll be picking Sammy up, just like James asked me to."

"I'm sorry to inconvenience you for coming here," Emily apologized as she started to close the door. "But since James never said anything about you coming over, I can't let you leave with…" Before Emily could shut the door, Hannah suddenly pushed it open again.

"Listen, lady," Hannah dropped her polite tone and started speaking angrily. "I came a long way to pick up Sammy, and I'm not leaving without him." With that, Hannah tried to force her way inside, only to have Emily block her way and shove her back into the hall.

"If you don't leave right now," Emily threatened, "then you'll be leaving with a police escort, because I _will_ call them." With that promise, she shut the door with a slam. Emily started to reach for the door lock, but before she could lock the door, it nearly flew open again as Hannah launched herself at the door, trying to force it open. For a few moments, the two women struggled with the door, both of them pushing their full weight against it until Emily successfully managed to bolt the door. The moment the door had been locked, Emily quickly moved to the couch, throwing a protective arm around Sammy, who had been watching in confusion as to what was happening.

"Whatsa matter, Mrs. Cohen?" Sammy asked innocently. Emily didn't answer right away. She was still shaken from Hannah trying to break in to take Sammy. When she'd calmed down enough to answer Sammy's question, there was a knock on the door. In a heartbeat, Emily was on her feet.

"Go away!" she yelled through the locked door.

"What?" Joanne's voice answered. "Emily, it's us! Open up!" Feeling a wave of relief, Emily unlocked the door for Joanne and Maureen.

"Quick, get in," Emily hissed urgently, nearly pulling Maureen through the door. The moment the two of them were in, Emily quickly shut the door again and relocked it.

"Emily, what's wrong?" Joanne asked, seeing her anxiety.

"Is Penny okay?" Maureen added in worry. "We saw the news, and…"

"Penny's fine," Emily spoke quickly. "Mark called and said she'd gotten out before the fire spread too much. But I'm not worried about that right now. Did you see anyone out in the hall when you came in?"

"No," Maureen shook her head. "It was just Joanne and me out there. Why?"

"That girl you helped at the subway station, Joanne," Emily dropped into a chair, too stressed to support her weight any longer. "She was just here. She tried to force her way in to take Sammy."

* * *

It was nearly dark by the time the police had finished interviewing the hospital staff. James drove his taxi cab down the street, with Mark and Penny riding in the backseat. Every few minutes, James found himself glancing back at them through his rear-view mirror with a soft smile on his face. He felt immense relief that Penny hadn't been harmed in the fire, and usually, he would have wanted to spend the rest of the night just holding her, thankful she was alive. In this case, however, he was perfectly happy just watching her and Mark having a small father/daughter moment, with Mark visually grateful that Penny was safe. James had always held a soft spot in his heart for watching fathers and daughters who were that close interacting.

As the cab turned onto the street the Condo was located on, James' smile faded at the sight of a police car pulling away from the building.

"Why's a police car at home?" Penny inquired, seeing the car as well. Quickly parking along the curb, the three of them exited the cab and immediately headed upstairs to the Condo, wondering what else could have happened on top of the fire at the hospital. When they entered the Condo, they found Emily, Maureen and Joanne on the couch, with Joanne's arm around Emily in an attempt to calm her down. Zack, Rodolfo and Lucia were also standing nearby.

"Emily, what happened?" Mark asked urgently, crossing the room to her side.

"Someone tried to kidnap Sammy," Zack explained.

"Sammy!?" James paled instantly. "Where is he?"

"It's okay, James," Joanne assured him. "He's in Mark and Emily's room, taking a nap." Without a word, James poked his head into the indicated bedroom to check up on Sammy, giving a relieved sigh upon seeing him sleeping soundly.

"Who would try to take Sammy, away?" Penny vocally wondered.

"It was that girl," Emily spoke up. "Remember that girl that Maureen pointed out at the family dinner at the Life last weekend, that one who Joanne had helped at the subway station? It was her."

"What!?" James cried out, spinning around with a look of fear on his face.

"She said you had asked her to pick Sammy up," Emily added. "I didn't think you'd have done that without telling me, since I was watching him. When I wouldn't let her in, she tried to force her way through the door." For a moment, James looked as if he was going to be sick, and sank to the floor, his back against the wall.

"Hannah," he moaned.

"Who's Hannah?" Lucia asked. Instead of replying, James put his face in his hands, breathing heavily. Filled with concern for her boyfriend, Penny crouched down next to him.

"James?"

"Penny, I'm so, so sorry," James finally looked up, his hands still covering his mouth, resulting in his voice being muffled. "This is all my fault."

"What are you talking about?" Maureen stared.

"That girl who tried to take Sammy," James began. "Her name is Hannah. When I think about it now, I'll bet anything that _she _started that fire. She knew I'd be concerned about you, Penny, and that I'd go down to the hospital myself. She set the fire to try and make sure I wouldn't be around, which would make it easier for her to take Sammy."

"Why?" Rodolfo's eyes narrowed in clear confusion. "Seriously, why would she want to kidnap your brother, James?" James, in response, squeezed his eyes shut. When Penny looked closely, she saw a thin film of tears squeezing out through his eyelids."

"James, please talk to us," Penny urged, trying to comfort him. It took a while before James responded to Penny's touch. When he did, his voice was filled with sadness.

"Penny, I'm really sorry." Despite speaking in a whisper, everyone could still hear what he was saying. "I lied to you. I've lied to you from the very start. From the moment we met. I've lied about who I am, who Sammy is."

"I don't understand." Penny found herself unable to take her eyes off of James, and neither could any of the other Bohemians. "What do you mean?"

"Sammy," James spoke in a shaky voice. "He…he's _not_ my brother. He's my son."

* * *

**AN: **And now, a virtual smorgasbord consisting of every dessert known to man for LifeIsTooQuick, for correctly guessing that Sammy was James' son instead of his brother. Nice one, my friend. (Hope I can call you that by now.) Never, ever doubt your instincts!


	7. James’ Past Revealed

**AN: **This will be a dark chapter, so you might need some tissues handy.

* * *

"What did you say?" Mark gaped at James' confession, with everyone else having similar reactions. "Sammy's your _son_?"

"I'm sorry for lying to everyone," James continued, sounding sincerely remorseful. "I wanted to keep Sammy far away from Hannah, so I told everyone I met that Sammy was my brother, hoping it would make it harder for her to find us. But she found Sammy and me regardless, and I'm just_ so_ sorry I dragged all of you into this." For a long moment, everyone was quiet, still recovering from the bombshell James had dropped. After a silence, Joanne spoke up.

"James, I think you need to start from the beginning," she announced. Pausing for a second or two, James finally nodded in agreement.

"Lucia," Emily turned to her young daughter before James could begin, "I think it's your bedtime."

"But, Mom!" Lucia cried. "I wanna stay and listen to James explain!"

"Goodnight, Lucia," Mark spoke pointedly. Sulking at the unfairness, Lucia stomped off, muttering under her breath about how much she hated having a bedtime. After Lucia had gone upstairs, making her annoyance obvious as she went, James moved to the couch, where he started telling his story.

"Hannah was my high school sweetheart," James began, wishing Penny would look away. He hated explaining about this subject to her. "We were one of those stereotypical 'sugary-sweet' teen couples, being voted 'cutest couple' in the year book, and candidates for Prom King and Queen. When we graduated from high school, Hannah and I, along with some of our school friends, started planning a trip up to New York, so we could have one last hurrah before college. We finally made it here sometime in August, and we spent the week just being your typical teenagers who were free from high school and the restrictions of parents, going clubbing and just staying out all night." James paused in his story to swallow hard, as if he'd suddenly gotten a bad taste in his mouth.

"It was on our last night here before returning home that Hannah and I slept together for the first time." James visibly winced, once again wishing Penny would look away.

"After we came back home to Maine and entered college, Hannah and I continued making our relationship…serious, with the two of us practically sharing a dorm room. We also made an agreement to return to New York each year, as some sort of anniversary. It was shortly after one of those 'anniversaries', when we started our Sophomore year, that our lives changed forever.

"I was in the middle of reading my textbook for a class when I got a call from Hannah, saying she wanted to see me immediately, and that it was important. When I arrived at her dorm room, she showed me her positive pregnancy test. I almost couldn't believe it. I was actually going to be a father, and I was completely thrilled at the thought of having a baby with Hannah. However, when my parents found out, they were less pleased with the situation, saying that I'd been completely irresponsible, and had destroyed my entire life because of that baby. In the end, they kicked me out of their house. And that's the real reason why I've never brought Penny to meet them. As far as my parents are concerned, I'm pretty much dead to them.

"Hannah and I ended up moving into a small apartment, which was located near the campus. We made a promise that we would raise our baby, and that we would always stay together, no matter what. And at the time, I thought that things would always be like that between Hannah and me.

"Nine months passed, and the time came for Hannah to give birth. At the hospital, her labor continued for quite a while, until she finally gave birth to Sammy. Sammy…and his twin sister, Mattie."

"Sammy has a twin sister?" Maureen interrupted suddenly. "Why didn't you ever mention her, James?" Joanne quickly elbowed Maureen, seeing the pained look appear on James' face.

"Go on, James," Joanne urged gently. "What happened next?"

"Well, for a time, things were great," James continued. "Hannah and I lived in our apartment with Sammy and Mattie. I woke up every day, feeling like the luckiest guy alive, all because of the small family I had. But then, things started changing. It was gradual, at first, so I didn't notice it for a while. Hannah started to come home later then she said she would, or she would forget about things like taking Sammy and Mattie to the pediatrician for check-ups. Like I said, I didn't really notice it at first, but then, I came home one day to find that Hannah wasn't home, and Sammy and Mattie had been left in the apartment alone. Needless to say, that worried me. I called up Hannah's friends, and they all said the same thing, that they didn't know where she was.

"About an hour later, Hannah finally arrived home, acting like everything was perfectly fine. I asked her why she'd left our children alone, and she immediately got defensive, saying that if she needed to get out of the house for a bit, then she had every right to do so. I tried to figure out why she'd bit my head off, and acted like I did something wrong, but she got even more angry and locked herself in our bedroom.

"Things got progressively worse and worse between Hannah and me as time went on. It was like she was a completely different person, and I had no idea what was happening. Then, one day, I was cleaning the apartment, and I found a nearly empty beer bottle hidden in the bookshelf. This discovery set off a serious alarm bell in my head. You see, I had a friend who was studying to be a drug and alcohol counselor, so I had a basic idea of what the warning signs were. When Hannah came home, I confronted her about the issue. Of course, she got angry, and ended up storming out.

"I called up my friend shortly after that, and he had me come down to the place where he was interning so we could discuss ways to help Hannah. Before I left, I called up a mutual friend of Hannah and me, asking her to watch Sammy and Mattie while I was out. I talked my friend for almost and hour, and in the end, he came back to the apartment, where Hannah had returned while I was gone. With my friend's help, we eventually got Hannah to agree to attend counseling about her drinking."

"So, she got better, then?" Rodolfo guessed.

"I thought she was," James sighed heavily. "I thought she was showing improvements, and that I was getting the Hannah I'd fallen in love with in high school back. But I was wrong. I was so horribly wrong.

"Hannah had been getting counseling for a few months when I had an exam scheduled. I left the apartment, leaving Hannah to care for our children, and went off to take the exam without much thought about it." James trailed off for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut again, fighting a fresh wave of tears.

"When I came back home," he whispered, "I went in to check up on Sammy and Mattie. When I reached into the crib to tuck Mattie in, I realized she wasn't breathing. I called 911 immediately. The moment I got off the phone, I saw Hannah sitting there in the corner, with an empty bottle in her hand. She was just staring at me with this really scary, emotionless look. She just said '_she just wouldn't stop crying_.'

"At the emergency room, I waited for news about Mattie for almost an hour before the doctor came out, and informed me that Mattie had…" James voice died in his throat, but no one needed him to complete that sentence to know what had happened to Mattie.

"Before the ambulance arrived," James forced himself to continue, his voice continuously breaking, "Hannah had said that Mattie wouldn't stop crying, and… the doctors, when examining her body, found evidence that….she'd been shaken. And there were bruises on her arms and chest, just like the ones we found on Zoey's arm a few months ago." Subconsciously, Zack shifted uncomfortably, the way he always did when someone mentioned Zoey.

James opened his mouth to continue, but then put his face in his hands and started to sob for a few minutes while everyone kept a respectful silence. Hesitating only for a moment, Penny placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, doing what she could to nonverbally offer some comfort. When James had composed himself, he looked up again.

"After that, I got scared," James admitted. "My daughter, my baby girl, was dead because of Hannah's drinking problem. I was so scared that she'd end up hurting Sammy, too. I couldn't let that happen. Sammy was all I had now. I know that I had the option of going to court, to terminate Hannah's custody rights of Sammy and all, but I was just so scared. I don't know as much about the legal system as you do, Joanne, but I did know that Hannah and I were never legally married to one another, and we only lived together. Because of that, I was terrified that I'd loose custody of Sammy along with Hannah. I'd already lost a daughter, and I didn't want to loose my son as well.

"So, I ran. That very night, when Hannah was sleeping, I packed up some things and, with Sammy, I ran, all the way here to New York. I figured it was the perfect bluff, that Hannah would never think I'd go somewhere so obvious. All the same, I did everything I could to keep Hannah from finding us, from saying that Sammy was my brother instead of my son, and even adopting the false surname of Parson. I couldn't let her find us, because I was scared to death that she'd take Sammy back, and end up hurting him like she hurt Mattie. I know she'd be in her rights to do so, since she was the birth mother, and I'd virtually kidnapped him. So I continued to do what I could to keep her from finding us. But now, she's finally tracked us down, and is determined to get Sammy back from me, even if it means hurting innocent people. Just like today, because I _know_ she was the one who started that fire at the hospital."

As James, finished his story, he finally turned to face Penny who had remained quiet the whole time. With tears starting to flow down his cheeks, he spoke only to her.

"I'm sorry, Penny," James choked. "I lied to you, and because of that, you could have died today. I lied about who I was from the very start, making the relationship we shared a dishonest one, and as a result, I've given you no reason to trust me. But you need to know that there was one thing that I was completely honest about. I really do love you."


	8. A Father’s Intervention

"Yo, Zack!" Rodolfo continuously hit his 'cousin' with a pillow while balancing on the ladder to Zack's loft bed. "Come on, Zacky, Aunt Emily says to get up or we'll be late!" Zack, reaching for his glasses, gave Rodolfo a skeptical look.

"Since when do you care about being on time for school, Rodolfo?" he asked. "You're always complaining to Alvin and me about how much you hate school."

"Yeah, I do," Rodolfo agreed with a Cheshire cat grin. "But we have that field trip to the Guggenheim today, remember? Field trips mean no homework, and we don't even have to pay attention." When Rodolfo had finally gotten Zack out of bed, the two boys headed out into the kitchenette, where Mark was sitting at the metal table with a mug of coffee, a solemn look on his face. Over on the couch, Lucia was petting Maya the cat, who was asleep on her lap, with Wenceslas lying at her feet. She was also looking pretty down at the moment.

"Morning, Dad," Zack greeted, helping himself to a box of cereal, having a pretty good idea why everyone was upset. Before Mark could return the greeting, the creak of a stair made everyone turn their heads. Emily was coming down from the upstairs bedroom, looking just as morose as Mark and Lucia.

"She's still the same, isn't she?" Mark guessed when he saw Emily's expression.

"Yes. There's not much difference," Emily confirmed. "Even when she's not up there crying, she looks as if she'd start up again any second."

It had been nearly a week since James had explained about his history with Hannah, and the truth about him and Sammy. Ever since then, James had kept out of contact with Penny, not even accepting her phone calls. It didn't take much of this sudden distance from James to leave Penny crushed. She spent most of her time in her room, she barely touched her food at dinner, and when she was at work, she was like a zombie, barely speaking with anyone. It was clear for anyone to see that her usual ardor for life had dimmed significantly because of James severing contact with her, and everyone felt great sympathy for her.

"Will Penny be okay, Mommy?" Lucia asked sadly.

"I don't know, Lucia," Emily sighed. "I hope so. Having your heart broken is one of the hardest things to deal with in life. Sometimes, people can't recover from it completely."

Over at the metal table, Mark stared into the contents of his coffee mug, slightly churning the brown liquid around, deep in thought. Suddenly, as if he'd reached a decision about something, he placed the mug back onto the table with a dull clunk and pushed his chair away from the table, getting up.

"I'm heading out for a bit," he announced. "I'll be back later."

"Where are you going?" Emily asked, looking after him. "I know you're not heading for work. It's your day off."

"I…uh…I just thought I'd take a bit of a walk, that's all," Mark replied vaguely. "Besides…it's been a while since I visited Roger and the others, you know?"

Okay," Emily nodded in understanding. "Be sure to tell them I'll be stopping by soon as well, all right? I would go down with you now, but I have work to do at my studio today."

"Don't worry," Mark looked back with a faint smile. "I'll be sure to tell them that." With that, Mark left the Condo.

* * *

James sat alone in the parking garage in the middle of his lunch break, taking an occasional sip from a can of Campbell's Soup at Hand. His coworkers were all giving him space, seeing that he wanted to be alone with his thoughts. Because of that, when James sensed the shadow fall over him indicating that someone had came up behind him, he let out a groaning sigh.

"For the last time, guys," James refused to even turn around. "I don't want to talk, okay?"

"Sorry, James, but I'm afraid I'm not giving you a choice." The reply came in a familiar voice, one that made James look over in surprise to find Mark standing there.

"Mark!" James blinked in amazement to see the filmmaker there. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk with you," Mark announced, sitting down next to James without asking for an invitation. "James, Penny's been really upset lately, and I think you know why." James focused his eyes on his can of soup, not wanting to hear what Mark was going to say. Even though Mark noticed this, he chose to continue speaking.

"I don't suppose you realize how much it hurts when you have to see your daughter so heartbroken, when someone she cares a great deal for, someone she loves, won't even return her phone calls."

"Can't say I_ can_ know how that feels," James replied bluntly, clearly thinking of Mattie.

"James, believe me when I say that I sympathize with your loss and the pain you've went through," Mark's tone softened. "However, I also believe you've suffered enough, and you don't need to put yourself through more pain. So why are you trying to distance yourself from Penny?"

"I'm doing what's best for Penny," James insisted. "Hannah might try to go through Penny to get to me again. Next time, she might actually end up killing her. It's better if we end it now, so she won't get hurt again."

"She's already hurt, James!" Mark challenged. "Do you realize Emily and I have to watch her cry herself to sleep every night just because you won't even see her? She _wants_ to see you, James, not to be cut out of your life just because you had a dark past. And here I was thinking that you actually loved my daughter."

"I do," James closed his eyes against the pain, his grip tightening on the can of soup as he fought back tears. "I _do_ love her, Mark. But that's why I need to let her go. Even if it wasn't for Hannah, the man she thinks she loves was a lie. I'm not that guy."

"Why don't you let Penny be the judge of that?" Mark cried. In response, James looked away, taking another sip from his soup. For a time, they were silent, until Mark stood up so his back was facing James. This act wasn't meant to snub the young man, but to make it easier for Mark to say what he said next.

"James," he began. "Have you ever been told about Roger and Mimi?"

"Rodolfo's parents," James nodded. "Yes, Penny's mentioned them quite a few times."

"Well, I don't know if she's ever told you this," Mark continued. "Roger cared a great deal about Mimi from the very start, but in spite of that, from the moment they met, he tried to distance himself from her. He did so for quite a few reasons, but the main one was because he had HIV, and because he didn't realize she also had it at first, he was unwilling to put Mimi in danger of getting it from him, or have her feel pain when he died before his time and left her to mourn him. He tried to shut her out of his life, and in doing so, he put himself in danger of letting something that turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him disappear from his life forever. And here you are, doing the same thing with Penny.

"Roger…he'd been my best friend my entire life, and I loved him like a brother. We knew just about everything about each other. And that's why I have no hesitation in saying…that he would have liked you, James. In fact, I really believe that he'd have seen a bit of himself in you. I _know _he would have, because I do, too. Because of that, I believe with all my heart that Roger would have told you to not make the same mistake he made in pushing the girl you love away, especially one who loves you in return. Even if your intentions are in the right place, doing something like that will not only hurt yourself, but the person you're pushing away as well.

"I'm not telling you how to live your life, James," Mark concluded as he started to walk off. "I just want you to think about what I said, because I don't want to see you go through the same torment that Roger put himself through. Because chances are, Penny's most likely feeling the same kind of pain you're feeling right now. Perhaps even more so." When James finally made himself look up, it was only to see Mark walking out of the garage, leaving him alone with his now-cold soup, and Mark's words echoing in his head.


	9. Penny Abducted

**AN: **Short chapter, but a major cliffhanger. I really hope you're enjoying this so far, because the story's climax is coming.

* * *

Rachel walked down the hall of the hospital, pulling her purse strap up higher on her shoulder. The damage from the fire last week had been minimal, and it only took a day before everything was up and running again.

As Rachel made her way towards the exit, she spotted Penny standing by a window. It looked as if she was searching for her metro card in her wallet. It didn't surprise Rachel to see that Penny's face was still completely absent of any sign of happiness.

"Hey, Penny," Rachel greeted gently, stepping over to her friend's side. "How're you doing?"

"Fine," Penny replied in an unconvincing tone. She'd finally managed to locate her metro card and moved it into the front of her wallet, so she'd have easier access to it when she arrived at the station. Rachel couldn't stop herself from lightly chewing on her lower lip. She'd almost offered to go kick James' butt for her, but stopped herself in time. She knew that the mere mention of James usually triggered a fresh flow of tears from Penny, and Rachel just couldn't stand seeing Penny cry.

"Put the metro card away, Pen," Rachel wrapped a consoling arm around Penny's shoulders. "I'll give you a free ride home, okay? We can even stop for some gumdrops on the way. I know how much you like gumdrops."

"Thanks, Rach," Penny gave a weak smile, allowing Rachel to shepherd her out the hospital's front door.

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" Rachel smiled. "Just wait here. I'll pull the car up for you." With that, Rachel headed out into the parking lot, leaving Penny alone outside the main entrance.

As Penny waited, she felt the need to chew a stick of gum and started going through her purse to look for the package of Juicy Fruit. In doing so, her wallet managed to slip out, falling open when it hit the pavement. As she picked up the fallen wallet, a small snapshot started to slide out from its photo pocket. Slowly, Penny picked it up to look at the picture and instantly felt the tears start to well up in her eyes. The picture, which had been taken on a warm spring afternoon in the park, featured her and James, his arms wrapped around her waist, with Sammy sitting next to them. All three of them were smiling widely at the camera, perfectly happy to be together.

Penny's thoughts and tears were put on hold when a pair of headlights shone down on her. Thinking it was Rachel with the car, Penny brushed away the tears and stood up to walk over. As she approached however, she realized that the car that was sitting there was not Rachel's. The moment this registered, the door on the driver's side opened, and a figure that was hidden behind the glare of the lights stepped out. Penny lifted an arm to shield her eyes, trying to make out the person who was now walking towards her. When the figure was a few steps away, however, a sudden wave of foreboding hit her. Quickly, Penny turned to hurry back inside. Before she could reach them, someone grabbed her from behind, and a cloth was forced over her mouth and nose. For a few brief moments, in the mist of her struggle, Penny could detect the unmistakable smell of the anesthesia the cloth had been soaked in, but then everything went dark.

* * *

Hannah smugly glared down at the unconscious Penny. That fire she had set had been a perfect distraction, helping her steal the bottle of anesthesia from the hospital's storage. Even if someone had done inventory afterwards, they would have excused the missing bottle as being lost in the fire. She'd been really clever to prepare for 'Plan B', in the event that she wouldn't have been able to get to Sammy while James was distracted with the hospital fire. Now, he was sure to come to her. After all, James would do _anything_ to save his precious little girlfriend.

Taking a firm grip under Penny's arms, Hannah dragged her over to the passenger side to push her in. The moment she did so, a voice crying out made her jump. That girl that Penny had been talking to a few moments before had returned, and was staring at Hannah in shock.

"Hey!" Rachel shouted, starting to head over. "What're you doing?" Hannah, starting to panic, hurried around the car, practically jumping into the driver's seat, thankful she'd left the car running in neutral. Through the windshield, Hannah noticed Rachel starting to run over, a terrified look on her face. Without blinking, Hannah shifted the car into drive, and began to move forward. Rachel had to do some intensive dodging to avoid getting hit by the car as it rolled by.

"Penny!" Rachel cried, watching helplessly as the car sped off. For a brief moment, she was frozen on the spot, but after a minute, she'd snapped out of it, reaching into her purse for her cell phone to dial 9-1-1.

* * *

In the Condo, Mark, Emily, Rodolfo, Zack and Lucia were just starting on dinner.

"So, why isn't Penny back yet?" Zack asked in curiosity, glancing over at her empty seat.

"Maybe she and Rachel decided to stop somewhere on the way back," Rodolfo guessed. "You know how much they like going out after work."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Returning her silverware to the table, Emily got up to answer it. Who she saw on the other side of the door was not who she'd expected.

"James!" Emily cried, quickly stepping aside to let the young man in. "This _is_ a surprise."

"Yeah," James muttered as he walked in, glancing over at Mark as he did so, nonverbally saying '_you were right._' In response, Mark sent him an encouraging smile. James uncomfortably shifted on his feet for a moment before continuing. "Um… Is Penny here?"

"No, she's not," Emily replied. James seemed to become even more downtrodden by this. "But you're more them welcome to stay until she does come home. She shouldn't be too much later."

"Thanks," James nodded, his eyes never leaving the ground, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "I'd like that."

Just as James plopped down on the couch to wait, the phone rang across the room. Since she was already up, Emily crossed the room to answer it.

"Hello? ... Rachel, hi! Are you and Penny out…what? Rachel, slow down, please!" Immediately, everyone paused to look over. They all could hear the muffled, faint sounds of Rachel speaking on the other end, and it was clear that she was upset about something. As Emily listened, her face grew pale with shock and fear.

"Thank you, Rachel. We'll be waiting for them to arrive." Emily finally found her voice after a second or two, but it was faint and weak. The moment she'd hung up the phone, she'd dropped to her knees, the stunned expression never leaving her face.

"Emily, what happened?" Mark asked, quickly leaving the table to crouch down beside her, filled with concern.

"Rachel," Emily croaked, her voice shaking with every syllable. "She was going to take Penny home after work. But she left her alone for just a few minutes to get the car. When she came back…she said a woman abducted her and drove off."

"NO!" James was on his feet in an instant. There was now a look of fear and panic on his face, and everyone else's for that matter.

"The police are on their way right now," Emily started to break down, pressing her face into Mark's shoulder as the worried tears started to flow. In response, Mark held her tightly, instinctively rubbing her back and fighting back tears of his own.

"Did…did Rachel say anything else?" James suddenly spoke harshly, eyes starting to burn with a strange light.

"Yes," Emily whispered after a lengthy pause, turning her tear-stained face up to James. "She said the person who kidnapped Penny was a young woman. With blonde hair." James face immediately hardened even more.

"Hannah," he growled, his hands closing into shaking fists at the thought of Penny at the mercy of Hannah.


	10. Race Against Time

**AN:** A 'thank you' to LifeIsTooQuick. I couldn't figure out where Hannah would take Penny, and I wanted to make it that room above Carnegie Hall (the place Kevin and the Pigeon Lady go in Home Alone 2) but I couldn't figure out the name for that room. LifeIsTooQuick, however suggested somewhere in Central Park, which ended up leading me to the Bandshell. So, thanks again, LifeIsTooQuick. And welcome back once again.

* * *

In less then an hour, the light atmosphere within the Condo had dissolved, and everyone was now feeling completely miserable and helpless. On the couch, Mark and Emily were holding each other, in an attempt to find comfort over what had happened. In the seat by the window, Zack was busy with trying to console Lucia, slipping into his role as a big brother, while Rodolfo stood nearby, looking at a complete loss of what to do or say. James sat alone at the metal table, with his face in his hands. The police had left a short time ago after questioning the family if there was anyone who would have wanted Penny harmed, and they were now scouring the city for any sign of the car that had been used in the abduction. This left the six of them to just sit around and wait for news.

"It's all my fault," James mumbled to himself, breaking the silence.

"No, James," Mark shook his head. "It's not your…"

"Yes, it is!" James insisted, his head snapping up. "I should have been there to protect her. I knew Hannah was the type to go through Penny to get to me. But I didn't do what I could to protect Penny. I let her down again." Once again, James placed his face in his hands. The silence continued for a while longer, until the phone rang.

"Maybe the police found something," Rodolfo thought out loud, picking it up. "Hello?"

"Put James on," Hannah's voice ordered. Rodolfo's eyes widened, realizing who he was speaking to.

"James," Rodolfo turned to him slowly. "It's _her_." James frowned, realizing who 'her' was. Once he'd taken the phone from Rodolfo, he began to talk to Hannah in a low, dangerous voice.

"Hannah, where's Penny?" James demanded.

"Oh, come on now, James," Hannah's smirk could clearly be heard over the phone. "You're what? Twenty-five? Almost twenty-six? Haven't you learned the value of being patient?"

"Spare me the pleasant talk," James growled, gripping the phone tighter. "Where are you keeping Penny? You had no right to drag her into this. This is about you and me."

"Exactly," Hannah replied. "But you clearly weren't about to agree to a meeting, so I needed some persuasion. Since I can't get Sammy, your little girlfriend was the next best thing to draw you out."

"She's not a bargaining chip!" James cried, enraged.

"No need to get upset," Hannah trilled. "If you want her back, you know where you need to go. Don't pretend you don't."

"Hannah, I swear," James spoke through gritted teeth. "If you hurt Penny, if you touch so much as a hair on her head, I _will _kill you."

"Oh, don't you be giving me that old threat," Hannah let out a laugh. "Like you'd be able…"

"Don't test my will, Hannah!" James shouted into the phone. "You don't know what I'm capable of anymore!" The Bohemian family all stared at James in shock. The look on his face was proof that he hadn't just given an empty threat. Even Hannah was silent, hearing the cold honesty in James' words. "I won't ask you again, Hannah!" James continued. "Where's Penny?"

"You _know _where to find her, James," Hannah replied bitterly. "I know you know, because you know me. Don't keep me waiting." Before James could say anything else, Hannah hung up. For a time, James simply listened to the dial tone, but then he too put the phone down.

"James, what happened?" Emily asked urgently.

"I know," James announced after a pregnant pause. "I know where she took Penny." Once again, James allowed a silence to fall in the Condo before turning to face the others. "Mark, I need your help. You need to try and contact the police. You need to tell them where to go to find the three of us, because I might need help if something goes wrong."

"The three of you?" Mark's eyes widened, understanding the implications of James' statement.

"Yeah. I'm heading down there myself," James announced. "And if any of you are thinking about trying to stop me, it won't work."

"James, no offense," Zack stepped into the conversation, "but aren't the police trained to handle…?"

"I can't wait for them, Zack," James insisted. "I know where they are, remember? And I know I can get there a lot faster then the cops can. If Penny has a hope of getting out of this, then the sooner I get down there, the better. It's my fault Penny got involved in this. I let her down once, but I'm not doing it again."

* * *

After getting off the phone, Hannah managed to quickly regain her confident air. With her smug grin, she strolled nonchalantly over to Penny. The two women were in the backstage room of the Central Park Bandshell, which Hannah had somehow managed to break into. Before Penny had regained consciousness, Hannah had tied her tightly to a stray chair that had been left in the room, also using an old bandanna as a gag. Now, Penny was awake, and Hannah took her chance to mock the strawberry blonde haired girl.

"Well, then, it looks like James is planning to play the white knight, and come dashing in to save you." Hannah smirked at the angry glare Penny was giving her. "Oh, do stop giving me that look. This isn't about you at all. You should be back with your precious family in no time at all, once James gets here. Because I know he'll come."

"You understand why I'm doing this, don't you?" Hannah crouched down so her face was level with Penny's. "I know you want to return to your family, and you will. Just as soon as I can return home with _my_ family. You have no idea how much it hurt me when the man I loved walked out with our son, without even saying goodbye. I was left with nothing, and no way to know where they went. Until now. Now, the three of us, can return home. Me, James and Sammy. We can be a family again. Because I _know _James still loves me. And once James arrives, that'll be the proof. It'll prove he remembers the bond we made in this very room, such a long time ago. It was here where we promised to always be together, no matter what, and you don't just forget about a vow like that." Penny strained at the ropes that were holding her, but Hannah paid no attention to her feeble attempt.

"I suppose you'll want to know how I managed to find James and Sammy again after all these years, wouldn't you?" Hannah asked. With a cruel grin, she reached out and started to finger the heart pendant Penny was wearing around her neck. It was the same pendant that James had given to her as a birthday present. "It's all thanks to this, you know. When James bought that for you, the sales clerk who sold it to him was the husband of my college roommate. It really is a small world, isn't it? You see, Penny, it really is all because of _you_ that I found the family that I lost all those years ago. I suppose I should thank you for that." Once again, Penny glared at Hannah. This time however, she tried to say something through the gag that was muffling her voice.

"Oh, you want to say something now?" Hannah laughed cruelly, removing the gag. "Well then, go right ahead."

"You've wasted your time, Hannah," Penny growled. "If you think James will actually go away with you…"

"I don't _think_, I _know_ he will," Hannah interrupted.

"Wake up, will you?" Penny snapped. "You're the reason your daughter's dead! James left you, Hannah, and he never wanted you to find him again. Does that sound like a guy who still loves you? If he _did_ still love you, you wouldn't need to hold me prisoner like this. He would have just came to you in the first place."

"Oh, James has always been that way," Hannah waved away Penny's comment. "He's never been the one who'd just drop someone who he's held an obvious infatuation with."

"Infatuation? It's not just an…"

"Is that right? So then, why would he be staying away from you like this? If he wasn't simply infatuated with you, if he really loved you, would he have put so much distance between the two of you, the way he's been doing lately, breaking your heart the way he did?" The anger in Penny's face disappeared, and was replaced by hurt and confusion.

"Tell me, Penny," Hannah's voice dropped to a whisper. "Has he gone and made love to you without any hesitation, the way he's done with me so many times in the past." Hannah's visually gloated, seeing in Penny's expression that the answer was 'no.' "Do you _still_ think James actually, genuinely loved you?" Without waiting for a reply, Hannah redid the gag over Penny's mouth and stepped back into the shadows to wait for James to arrive, leaving Penny alone with her conflicting thoughts, a single tear slipping down her cheek.


	11. Return to the Beginning

James made his way into Central Park after parking his taxi cab along 5th Avenue. His earlier prediction appeared to have been true. There was no sign of any cop car coming. He didn't think there would be, anyway. It was just as well, after all. He wanted to do this alone.

As he made his way along the path, in a set course to the Bandshell, his mind went back to that time long ago, when he and Hannah had visited New York after high school graduation.

**Flashback**

Rain was falling from the sky in torrents. In Central Park, a young couple was running along the water-soaked pavement, with the young man trying to use his navy blue windbreaker as a makeshift umbrella. In spite of his attempts, the young couple was still getting quite soaked, but that didn't stop the girl from laughing in enjoyment. The sound of her laughter also placed a large grin on the young man's face.

"James, over there!" the girl pointed to a location nearby. Catching on to her meaning, James redirected them over towards the Bandshell to find shelter from the rain. After they'd made it to the temporary cover, the girl proceeded over to the door that would lead them backstage.

"Hannah, I don't think we're allowed back there," James called over to her, a large smile on his face.

"Oh, come on, James!" Hannah winked back at him as she tested the door, which had been left unlocked. "Where's your sense of excitement? Besides, back here, we'll be out of the wind as well." James gave in instantly, and followed Hannah backstage. The moment he'd joined her, Hannah launched herself at him, hugging his neck. In response, James's arms latched themselves around Hannah's waist, laying his cheek on her hair.

"Hannah, you're soaking wet," James laughed after a moment. Hannah smirked up at him, her blonde hair sticking to her face.

"Hey, mister, you're not exactly towel dry yourself," she pointed out, smoothing out James' hair, which was also dripping wet, creating a small puddle on the floor. "Besides, does it really matter?"

"Not at all," James shook his head, pushing some of the soaked hair out of Hannah's face, his hands remaining on her cheeks. "Besides, wet hair makes you look even cuter." To prove his statement, James bent down to kiss her tenderly. When he'd pulled back, Hannah returned the term of affection by moving her lips to his neck, an act that made James sigh in contentment. The young couple continued with their caresses, using both their lips and their hands. Very slowly, James became aware that the two of them were slowly moving down to the floor. At this point, however, he really didn't care about that. It was something he wanted very much, and seeing how Hannah wasn't resisting, he was quite sure she wanted this just as much.

**End Flashback**

James' eyes clenched shut as he forced that old memory to the back of his mind. That part of his life was over for good, and dwelling on it would not help him with what he needed to do now. He'd just arrived at the Bandshell, where he was sure Hannah was holding Penny captive.

Making his way to the backstage door, James was relieved to find that it had been left unlocked once again. Once he was inside, James carefully closed the door behind him, trying to not make any noise that would alert Hannah of his presence. Moving further along into the backstage room, he strained his eyes to see in the limited light. Before long, he stopped in his tracks, seeing the figure tied to the chair. Urgently, James looked around, and to his relief, there was no sign of Hannah anywhere. Not hesitating a moment longer, James crossed the room to Penny's side in an instant. The moment he touched her shoulder, Penny gave a sudden jump, turning her head in fear. The terrified look on her face quickly disappeared upon her seeing who it was. Instead, her eyes were immediately filled with joyful tears. Even with the gag in place, James could tell she was smiling as well.

"Shhh," James whispered, going right to work at untying the robes that held Penny to the chair. "It's okay, Penny. I'll have you out of this in a minute." Once James had undid the robes, Penny pulled off the gag.

"James," Penny whispered, lightly touching his face. For a brief moment, James' eyes met Penny's as he covered her hand with his own, but then he stepped back, pulling her up out of the chair.

"Come on, Penny," James instructed quietly, starting to lead her out of the backstage room. "We gotta get you out of here before Hannah figures out I'm here."

"James?" Penny's voice made him turn back for a moment. The young girl was gazing at him with a face filled with joy, love, and gratefulness. "I… I knew you'd come. I never doubted it." James was momentarily frozen at Penny's words, and he was rooted to the spot for a second or two. When he snapped out of it, he pulled Penny into the tightest hug he could possibly manage.

"Penny, I'm sorry!" James spoke into her hair, his voice carrying a strong hint of tears. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have kept away from you like that. I was just so scared Hannah would use you to get to me, so I though you'd be safe if I stayed away. But she still dragged you into this anyway.

"I'm _so,_ so sorry, Penny. I love you so much. I'm not gonna let you down again, and…"

"James," Penny cut him off by placing two of her fingers over his lips. The smile on her face grew even larger before she continued. "It's okay. Apology accepted. All is forgiven." With these words, Penny replaced her fingers with her own lips, giving James a loving kiss, which he returned whole-heartedly.

"Come on," James took her by the hand once the kiss had ended. "Let's get you home." With a wide smile, Penny let James lead her out of the backstage room. Once they started going out the door, however, she stopped in her tracks. James looked back at her in confusion, and saw her staring wide eyed at something behind him. With a set, determined expression on his face, James turned to face Hannah, who was blocking their way.

"I knew you'd remember, James," Hannah smiled. "I knew you'd remember what this place meant to us. We're right back to where we all started, at the place where you and I made love for the first time."

"No, I haven't forgotten," James replied. "Hannah, this has to stop. It's bad enough you've tried to kidnap our son, but to abduct Penny…"

"Well, you know all about kidnapping our son," Hannah pointed out. "As for Penny, she's free to go. After all, she's done her part by bringing you here."

"Penny?" James spoke to his girlfriend, without taking his eyes of Hannah. "I want you to get out of here."

"You're not serious!" Penny cried. "After all of this, you seriously think I'd just walk away and leave you?"

"Please, Penny," James begged. "I don't want to see you get hurt. I couldn't bear that. Just…go back home. Your parents are worried sick." Penny stood firm for a second or two, but then stood on her tiptoes to kiss James' cheek before hurrying off.

Unknown to James and Hannah, however, she didn't go far at all, and doubled back to hide close by so she would be able to help if she could. By the time she managed to make it to her hiding place, James and Hannah were already talking.

"Why won't you understand this, Hannah?" James spoke with a small hint of desperation in her voice. "After everything that you've done...Mattie's gone because of you, and you still aren't as sorry as you should be!"

"I think you'll find I am, James," Hannah replied. "Do you really think I wasn't hurt by what happened to our daughter? You really think I don't regret what I did?"

"If you did regret it as much as you say you would, you would have done everything you've done to change. But everything you've done here in the city, Hannah; that fire at the hospital, trying to take Sammy by force, and now kidnapping Penny! That just proves you haven't even tried to change. Because of that, what we once shared here will never happen again."

"Oh, come on James," Hannah crooned, inching closer to James. "You're not fooling anyone. You know you still want me, and you want us all to be a family again."

"No," James stepped away. "I don't, Hannah. Not anymore. Because you've changed too much for me to just pretend that everything's the same between us. The Hannah I loved died a long time ago, and a part of me will always care about her because she's the mother of my son. But as for being the person I love, that label is Penny's, and no one else's.

"Goodbye, Hannah," James turned away with a tone of finality. "I just hope you'll eventually learn to help yourself."

"Oh, no," Hannah's voice changed to a cruel, hardened tone. "Not goodbye, James. You see, you and I made a promise on this very spot. A promise that we'd stay together forever. You don't just get to walk away from that, and I intend to make sure you won't, one way or the other."

From her hiding place, Penny watched as Hannah reached behind her back, taking out something that had been hidden beneath her shirt. The light from the lamppost nearby reflected off the object in Hannah's hand, making it possible for her to identify it.

"NO!" In a flash, Penny abandoned her hiding place, hurrying back to James as quickly as she could. Without giving a second thought to the danger involved, Penny shielded James from Hannah, just as the trigger on the gun was pulled.

James' shock reached its highest point when he felt Penny's body lurch forward from the impact of the projectile. Trembling, he glanced down to see the red stain starting to form on the back of Penny's nursing scrub.

"Penny," James whispered in horror, carefully lowering her to the floor, making sure she didn't go down too hard. "Oh, please, no. Why'd you…da-n, Penny! What were you thinking?"

"James, don't be mad," Penny forced a weak smile. "I just… couldn't let you get hurt. I love you too much, and I always will."

"Penny, please!" James begged, the tears starting to flow as he held her closer, "Don't…don't close your eyes. Stay with me, please! I love you! Don't do this to me!" Very slowly, Penny raised a hand to cup James' cheek, but the moment she managed to touch his tear-stained skin, her eyes slipped shut. "Penny, no!" James broke down, cradling Penny's still form, almost forgetting that Hannah was still standing there, watching the scene in silence.

"James," Hannah's voice interrupted James' soft sobs. Tearing his eyes away from Penny, James glared at Hannah in hatred, but before he could say a word, Hannah beat him to the punch. "Please understand. The family we shared was _everything _to me. The things I did…without you and Sammy, I _had_ no life." Without another word, Hannah closed her eyes, once again raising the gun. This time, however, she pointed it at her own temple.

"Hannah!" James cried out at the same second the gun went off again. Seeing the woman who'd given birth to his son fall to the ground shocked James beyond tears. For a brief moment, he knelt there, too stunned to even move, with Penny still held firmly in his arms.

In the distance, the sounds of police sirens broke through the silence, indicating the police were finally arriving.

* * *

**AN:** Sorry, but I'm going to be evil and leave it here for a while. All I'm going to say about this cliffhanger is that there's still one more chapter left to this story. and that it takes place a few weeks later. Until I finish it to my satisfaction, however, you're just going to have to wait.


	12. A Fresh Start

**AN: **I'm pleased to say I was actually pretty happy with how this chapter turned out. It's probably the shortest one in this whole entire story, but it wraps everything up. Just to let you all know now, this chapter takes place about about two weeks after the last chapter.

On that note, I give you all the final chapter of The Baggage of James 

* * *

The sun shone down over the small town of Orono, Maine. In the cemetery run, a small group of people were assembled around an oak coffin that lay beside a fresh grave. Among them were James and Sammy. The two of them were dressed in navy suits, and in James' hand was a small bouquet of wild lupine. Little Sammy, meanwhile, was clinging to James' free hand, staring at the coffin, his face a clear picture of his inability to fully comprehend the concept of death.

As the crowd of people began to diverge, James laid the wild lupine atop the coffin, letting out a small sigh as he did so. For a moment longer, he looked down at the casket, and before he turned to leave, he glanced over at the forty-something couple who had been standing nearby, catching their eyes for a moment, hoping to nonverbally convey his thoughts to them. To his surprise, and relief, the older man gave him a stiff nod of acknowledgment.

With one last glance at the coffin, James pulled Sammy up to carry him in his arms, and walked off, making his way toward the person who was waiting for him nearby A tender smile stretched across James' face as Penny went up to meet him halfway. The scoop neckline of her black blouse made the bandage that had been secured to her back completely noticeable.

It had been determined when she was in the ICU of the hospital that the bullet had embedded itself somewhere beneath the back of the collarbone, but there had been no serious damage done, and she was out of the hospital after a few days. Nevertheless, James had been surprised when Penny had announced she intended to go with James and Sammy when they flew to Maine for Hannah's funeral. She hadn't changed her mind about it, no matter how many times James had told her that she didn't have to come. Now that he saw her here to greet him after he'd said 'goodbye' to Hannah, James couldn't deny that he was grateful for her presence on this day.

When Penny had reached his side, James placed Sammy on the ground, and the little boy immediately ambled over to Penny, taking hold of her hand.

"Thanks again for coming, Penny," James began, smiling softly at her. "I mean, even after everything she did to you, you still came with me."

"James, I've told you before," Penny explained, bending down to pick Sammy up, pausing to smile at the boy when he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Hannah was your high school sweetheart, and Sammy's mother. She was important to you, and in a way, that makes her important to me, too. Besides, I can't help feeling sorry for her. I remember what you told me, about what she'd said before she died. Everything she did was the act of a desperate woman who didn't know how to live her life after you left with Sammy. I'm not blaming you, of course, but I still can't help but pity her all the same. How can I possibly bear a grudge against a girl who wasn't able to live for herself?"

As Penny spoke, James felt as if he might actually burst with love for her. That was just so Penny, always looking for the good in everyone, no matter what kind of horrible things that person had done. It was at times like this that James could almost feel himself falling in love with her all over again, and he couldn't help but place a loving kiss on her forehead.

"Come on," James wrapped an arm around Penny's waist. "I'm sure you and Sammy are getting hungry."

"I'm not hungry," Sammy piped up, his arms still around Penny's neck. "I'm_ starvin_'!" Sammy's comment forced a set of laughs from James and Penny.

"Well, then," James chuckled, tussling his son's hair, "we can't have a starving five-year-old, can we?"

"We certainly can't," Penny agreed, as the three of them made their way out of the cemetery.

As they walked out of the cemetery and out onto the street where a rental car was waiting, James forced himself to say something he'd been planning to bring up since the night he'd revealed the truth about his relation to Sammy.

"Penny?" James started, tightening his hold on Penny's waist, "you remember what I said a while ago? About the fact that my last name, Parson, wasn't my real last name, but one I used to try and keep Hannah from finding us? Well, I think its time you knew my real name. It's James Cooke."

"And?" Penny responded, smiling back at him with a face full of love. "James, do you think it really matters to me what your real last name is? While it is nice to know, Parson, Cooke, or whatever your name is, doesn't change who you are to me. Regardless of what you're called, you're still James, Sammy's father, and the person I love." James face softened to the point where it was visibly clear how much he loved Penny in return for feeling that way.

"Penny, I don't deserve you," James sighed. In response, Penny reached out with one hand to touch his cheek, skillfully managing to balance Sammy in one arm.

"Yes, you do," Penny assured in a whisper before leaning in to kiss him, being met with a tender, loving response.

Overhead, the warm sun that was hanging in the cloudless sky shone down on the young couple, with the small five-year-old boy cradled beside them, providing a sign and a promise of a fresh new start.

* * *

**AN**: And that's the end for my darker stories, at least for now. My next three stories are friendship-based, and will star mainly Rodolfo and Zack.


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